Deadly fire deemed accidental

The Hawk Eye

Thursday

Sep 12, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The fire that killed a rural Des Moines County man this week has been determined to be accidental.

Burlington Fire Marshal Mark Crooks said Wednesday it appeared Jerry E. Hensen, 75, tried to extinguish a fire early Tuesday in the kitchen of his mobile home before being overcome with smoke. The fire had burned itself out by the time rescue workers with the Burlington Fire Department arrived at Hensen's home, 11686 Beaverdale Road, Lot 75.

After an autopsy, medical examiner Eugenio Torres ruled Hensen's death was accidental, with the official cause of death being asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Crooks said it appeared it was an electrical fire.

Firefighters were alerted after neighbors, who hadn't seen Hensen all day, saw water coming from his mobile home and determined a fire had occurred, Crooks said.

No working smoke detectors were found inside the home, which sustained about $2,500 in damage.

The investigation was conducted by the Burlington Fire Department, Des Moines County Sheriff's office and the Iowa State Fire Marshal's office.

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